Inquisitive Semantics and Pragmatics
Jeroen Groenendijk, Floris Roelofsen

Abstract:
This paper starts with an informal introduction to inquisitive
semantics. After that, we present a formal definition of the
semantics, and introduce the basic semantic notions of inquisitiveness
and informativeness, in terms of wich we define the semantic
categories of questions, assertions, and hybrid sentences.

The focus of this paper will be on the logical pragmatical notions
that the semantics gives rise to. We introduce and motivate
inquisitive versions of principles of cooperation, which direct a
conversation towards enhancement of the common ground.  We define a
notion of compliance, which judges relatedness of one utterance to
another, and a notion of homogeneity, which enables quantitative
comparison of compliant moves. We end the paper with an illustration
of the cooperative way in which implicatures are established, or
cancelled, in inquisitive pragmatics.

Keywords: inquisitiveness;  informativeness;  common ground;  compliance